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Young people afraid to seek guidance on workplace and career matters

Published: August 22, 2016

Younger employees are very reluctant to ask for guidance on workplace and career-related issues, a new survey has revealed.

According to research by rungway, nearly half of workers across the board do not seek advice on these matters. However, this seems to be a particular problem among 18 to 34-year-olds, with people in this age group feeling they would be considered a pest if they asked for guidance.

The poll also found widespread concerns among this demographic that nobody would understand their workplace issue and that they have nobody to turn to. People in different age groups cited other reasons for not seeking assistance at work.

For instance, many 35 to 44-year-olds were reluctant to get guidance because they felt others would be too busy to help them. However, not wanting to seem like a pest was also cited as a common reason to avoid getting help, just as it was with their younger counterparts. This could potentially cause problems further down the line, as 19 per cent of employees admitted that work issues affect their sleep patterns every week.

Julie Chakraverty, founder at rungway, commented: “It seems there is a lot of variation in people’s approach to managing work issues, but a common thread throughout is that some people are afraid of asking for help and being seen as a pest, even when work issues affect their sleep every week.

“Actually, ignoring issues can make things worse, and what we’ve seen on rungway is that many people around us do want to help and are offering advice regularly.”

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